Change the clocks – and the batteries

Firefighters are asking people to change their smoke alarm batteries on Sunday, the same day clocks are changed for daylight saving time.

And this time, you get to move the clocks back an hour. With that extra hour to change the battery, you really can’t use the “I’m too busy” excuse.

Kent Fire Department spokesman Don Barberie cited a national study saying of the 90 percent of homes that have smoke alarms nationally, about 20 percent – roughly 16 million homes – have dead or missing batteries.

House fires are the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States, he said.

The Seattle Fire Department can install smoke alarms and batteries free of charge in homes where the homeowner is either a senior citizen, living on a low income, or disabled, department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen said.

To request assistance, call 206-386-1337.

Many fire departments outside Seattle will also provide assistance, she said.

Of the 481 Seattle structure fires in 2006, 390 of them were in residences, according to department statistics.

In all the structure fires that year, four civilians died and 19 were injured, according to the department.

The number of those that did not have smoke alarms was not immediately available.